Studying the Atmospheres of Exoplanets (astronomy)

The number of detected exoplanets is approaching 2,000 and the list will be extended to tens of thousands in the next years by dedicated space missions and ground instrumentation. Characterisation of the planetary physical conditions is the next required step in the direction of understanding the nature of these alien worlds. This requires new instrumentation capable to perform exoplanet atmospheric spectroscopy and direct detection. In this project you will contribute to the study of the next generation of exoplanet instrumentation work to development of key required technology. This project is targeted to students with a preference for data analysis or laboratory-based work. A combination of the two activities is also possible. As part of the EChO consortium, students will work alongside a friendly and motivated international team, leading one or more critical aspect of this paradigm-changing space mission.